Sunday, September 16, 2012

A Book Review of Ravitch, D. (1983). The Troubled Crusade: American Education 1945-1980. New York, NY: Basic Books.

The
Troubled Crusade is a descriptive, and to a small degree evaluative, history of
American higher education from the period immediately after World War II until
1980.Although this is not an exhaustive
treatment of the forces at work that characterize the crusade against
ignorance or campaigns for equal educational opportunity, Ravitch explores a
selection of forces at work that constitute the core for understanding
the times of the crusade, and this she does intentionally in order to fulfill
her purpose for writing the book, “This book is a report on the state of the
crusade against ignorance during a particularly tumultuous time in American
history.”

The
prologue to TheTroubled Crusade is launched from the contextual
framework of Jefferson’s letter to his friend and advisor George Wythe, then
the American minister to the French government, regarding the bill on religious
freedom.Jefferson’s exhortation to
Wythe sheds light as to the fundamental agenda and the speculated outcome of
the crusade against ignorance,

Preach, my
dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for
educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can
protect us against these evils, and that the tax which will be paid for this
purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings,
priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance.(p. xi)

Ravitch’s
introduction of Jefferson’s rationale displays the spirit of the crusade
against ignorance and, indirectly, introduces the themes that Ravitch would
engage in the text as auxiliary in placing the reforms in their context.Like the Christian crusades, the movement was
to convert the ignorant (i.e., those who were victims of an evil crippling
society) into the world of the knowledgeable; and, like any social movement,
the crusade was destined to face opposition.In Jefferson’s ethic, inequality was to generate greater expenses than
equality; therefore, the crusade to equality of educational opportunity was not
a matter of choice but a necessity.Ravitch looks into the crusade with this pre-understanding and reports
on the events without engaging in judgments – this is not to say that she
refrains completely from judgments.

The
theme of equal educational opportunity, in Ravitch, presents the dichotomy of
change and resistance.Evidence of this
dichotomy is seen in the constant struggle faced by movements that crusaded
against social issues such as (a) racial segregation and discrimination, which
were at the heart of the crusade for equal educational opportunity; (b) the
Vietnam War and the Cold War; (c) sex discrimination; (d) government and
educational control; (e) religious freedom and educational control; (f) student
activism and educational control; (g) the education for the handicapped; and
(h) urban versus rural schools.It would
be unthinkable to discuss the crusade without this conceptual framework
because, “what other than race, gender, politics, religion, power, and physical
ability can constitute a greater source of conflict in any given society?”

Considering
that the American republic was established with a hierarchical view of race and
that arguing for equality of educational opportunity would challenge that
initial characteristic of the republic and its segregated structure, it is no
wonder that Ravitch dedicates two chapters to race and education, and even
incorporates discussions on race-related movements within other chapters, e.g.,
Chapter seven.Race is a core issue in
debates on equal educational opportunity and to this date Ravitch’s research is
essential in understanding why we still have race at the center of the
discussions on equal education opportunity.Again, my critique is that this is not the only issue but the core.

Ravitch
describes the spirit of the crusade as a drive for change at any cost and at a
high speed, “Whoever the claimant, whether representing blacks, women, the
handicapped, or non-English-speaking minority groups, the avenue of political
remedy was the same: To bypass educational authorities by working directly with
sympathetic congressional committees and by gaining judicial supervision”(p. 311).One constant thesis in the book is the perception that the school is a
means through which the goal of equity was to be achieved and the awareness by
crusader groups that a dominant culture was being transferred through the
school system.What is not explicitly
evident in the book is whether Ravitch’s thesis, in some way, is the result of
her judgment of the role of schools in society or simply an objective
description of the perception of those engaged in reforms during the
crusade.In other words, “did the
reformers truly believe that the school is a transformer of society? Or did
they perceive society to be the reason educational reforms were
necessary?”This is a distinction not
made in Ravitch, which a critical historian would have engaged. Forces at work are essential to
understand social phenomena, but a deeper understanding of social phenomena
requires a deeper understanding of forces at work and not a mere report
on what such forces were.

Although
Ravitch lacks a thorough critical analysis of the issues outlined in the book,
one cannot judge her book on such basis, as some critiques have, because she
makes clear that her intention is to present “a report on the state of the
crusade against ignorance during a particularly tumultuous time in America.” –
This is a wise indication that Ravitch does not intend to delve exhaustively in
the history of the crusades but rather open a platform for a better
understanding of the times and some whys of the crusade.

Like
most historians, Ravitch recognizes the complexity of the crusade in the
following statement:

In the
crusade against ignorance, there have been no easy victories, but no lasting
defeats. Those who have labored on behalf of American education have seen so
many barriers scaled, so much hatred dispelled, so many possibilities remaining
to provide the basis for future reconciliation. To believe in education is to
believe in the future, to believe in what may be accomplished through the
disciplined use of intelligence, allied with cooperation and good will. If it
seems naively American to put so much stock in schools, colleges, and
universities, and the endless prospect of self-improvement and social
improvement, it is an admirable, and perhaps even a noble, flaw.(p. 330)

The book opens with the somehow simplistic-optimistic tone evident
in Jefferson’s letter, the book’s content is filled with a mix of several isms,
such as optimism, pessimism, and skepticism, and it closes in an optimistic
tone.To close the book in this fashion
is indeed opening up a challenge to one’s interpretation of historical events,
particularly because I am skeptical as to whether the complexity of the issues
prompting the crusade and the current issues presented in today’s discussions
on reforms, for instance equal educational opportunity, will find their
solution in the belief on education and not in the belief of something outside
education.In my view, equal educational
opportunity includes aspects that go beyond the curriculum and educational
endeavors because such constructs as equality, education, and opportunity are
socially construed and remain conflicting due to the multiplicity of
perspectives on the interpretation of what indeed constitutes equality,
intelligence, and opportunity.

Ravitch’s book is a must-read for all historians and those
concerned with social transformation related to education.In spite of the issues I raise regarding its
closing, I have deep respect for such an insightful reading, and there is no
perfect history ever written, yet this is “close to perfect” because it does
justice to its intention and promise.

About Me

To describe oneself is to make oneself susceptible to the foolishness that there is such a thing as knowing oneself. As an African, I have come to the realization that defining oneself is impossible without a definition of those who bring meaning to existence--A mhunu i mhunu ka vhanu. If you want to know who I am, you will have to look at the two most beautiful people (in and out) who surround me, my wife and my daughter; look at those whose influence has been remarkable in my life; then, look at yourself and how you fit in my journey. It is a reflection of all of you that makes who I am.